Hop Damage - Can you identify?

[ctheis]

I seem to be having an issue with what may be several things. Just wanted to post it here and see if anyone could identify what may be happening.
I had thought this to be more wind dmg than anything, but it has started showing up on plants that have not been exposed to any type of winds.

I am leaning now towards either sunburn? as it has been very hot here the last week avg temps in the upper 80's - or a mineral deficency? - or some kind of disease? - or Insect dmg? I know I have aphids and I just sprayed for them last week with an insecticidal soap which worked quite well. I didnt have many but I also didnt want them to get a good start.

I know its not fert burn as these gals have only ever seen a bit of miracle grow back in march. This also only starts showing up after the leaves really start to mature and seem to be confined to Nuggets. It does not seem to be affecting the cones at all. I have checked every plant and all the cones are bright green with the exception of one that was rubbing against one of the leaves...it got very brown but has since repaired all the dmg and is quite a nice cone with just 2 bracts that have just a touch left on them. I am assumming that it was more abrasive dmg than anything nefarious.

Anyone have any ideas?

Cheers

 

[B-Hoppy]

"I know its not fert burn as these guys have only ever seen a bit of miracle grow back in march." they're actually 'gals' who produce one of my favorite ingredients to spice beer with, please give them a little respect. i will say though, it's harder to tell them apart nowadays compared to back in the mid 80's.

and on to the main topic, the first picture sure does look like weathering/ sunburn like you stated. the second pic is kind of hard to make out but it doesn't appear to be any thing other than just a blip on the radar. nothing characteristic of any major disease or other pest. the leaf looks very healthy. keep up the good work and have a great harvest.

 

[ctheis]

My bad - "Gals" - respect paid

 

[B-Hoppy]

thanks, i'm not try'n to be a doink, i just really like hops!

 

[Scooby_Brew]

If you have aphids one spraying will not stop them or kill them. You need to do it multiple times. I would google how to make insecticidal soap at home (soap and water), otherwise it may cost you a fortune. And a little more nutrition would be nice too, I've been using compost tea this year with great results for my... oh yeah, "gals"

 

[ctheis]

If you have aphids one spraying will not stop them or kill them. You need to do it multiple times. I would google how to make insecticidal soap at home (soap and water), otherwise it may cost you a fortune. And a little more nutrition would be nice too, I've been using compost tea this year with great results for my... oh yeah, "gals"

Yeah I just spray as needed to keep them down...I have lady bugs all over the place and its not often that I need to spray...I just spray as I see them overwhelming the ladybugs.

As far as fertilizing them. I am not going to for the rest of this season. The one ferting I did give them was very minimal and I only did that as the mulch around them is about an inch or so thick...So I gave them enough to replace any nitrogen the mulch was using up.

I want to use them as a baseline so that next year when I start a fertilizing schedule I have a baseline. Ill be using 16-16-16 next year and I want to have something to base the results against. Right now all the nuggets are 17' and about to top out (full of cones and 30 to 36 inch sidearms)with the exception of 5. I cut those 5 back to the crown in mid May and they are just now hitting the 16' mark. So without any meaningful fert they are doing pretty well except for whatever that is in the pics.

 

[brewyourown4life]

i have the same thing on mine also but worse, i think mine is from all the wind we had the last couple of months.

 

[B-Hoppy]

ctheis, just out of curiosity, how long have you had your hops in the ground?

 

[ctheis]

ctheis, just out of curiosity, how long have you had your hops in the ground?

Those are 2nd year plants. the first pic is one I just let grow. The second one is of a plant I cut back to the crown in mid May (both Nuggets).
I also have a bunch of 2nd year cascades and first year Brewers gold, Chinook, Centennials, Goldings, Liberty, Spalt Select, Mt Hood, Sterling, and Santium. If all goes well I am hoping to expand to somewhere between 5 and 10 acres.

 

[B-Hoppy]

that kinda answers some questions. the picture of the second leaf looks a lot fresher than the first one. been up and growing for a shorter period of time than the first one. and on the matter of fertility trials: make sure to keep a couple 'control' plants to see what happens if you do nothing. i say this because at this stage of the game, you may see a tremendous amount of increased vigor between year 2 and 3 depending on your growing conditions. some see the big change between year 1 and 2 but at some point, it does happen - i like to call it 'plant puberty' - when dealing with hops. once the change has occurred, when first sprouting, many send up a bunch of giant jemongous healthy shoots REAL early in the season that leave you feeling guilty for pulling them, but you do this because you love them and know it's what's best for them. then, sometime later in the season, you finally train them. they seem to shoot for the sky a foot a day. go ahead measure, they will do it. and the leaves seem to get a lot bigger a lot quicker once they are mature. so go ahead and do some research but remember to keep a few checks to see what doing 'nothing' does.

 

[TimBrewz]

I am no expert, and tend to error on the side of letting nature be nature with my hops, I have been growing for a four years now, and I have leaves with that browning on them every year. I also have holes in leaves at times. I have had big yields of great hops regardless of these issues. My experience has been that these are very resilient plants, and unless whatever disease is actually killing the leaves or the plant itself, they tend to grow and grow. I must admit the first 2 years I grew them, I was out there daily- inspecting them and fretting....Now I am using the "relax, don't worry" approach.

 

[ctheis]

Yeah the Nuggets are do nothing plants (control)(ill be planting more nuggets next year) - I dont water them I dont fert them..I have let some grow from march...and I have cut others back in mid may and trained them about 3 days after I cut them back. Those are now hitting the 16' mark and getting ready to go over.

Did a harvest on 5 Nugget plants this morning - got about a lb wet - there are still more on the bines that just need a bit more time. So it looks like Ill get around 5lbs total (wet) out of 5 plants -I have 12 others that will be harvested later on (nuggets). The rest of the varieties will be later this year.

I am looking forward to next years harvest to see what happens after my irrigation system is in place and my fert schedule goes in.

That lb this morning is just enough for a big ole bowlful to get you going

 

[TimBrewz]

Yeah the Nuggets are do nothing plants (control)(ill be planting more nuggets next year) - I dont water them I dont fert them..I have let some grow from march...and I have cut others back in mid may and trained them about 3 days after I cut them back. Those are now hitting the 16' mark and getting ready to go over.

Did a harvest on 5 Nugget plants this morning - got about a lb wet - there are still more on the bines that just need a bit more time. So it looks like Ill get around 5lbs total (wet) out of 5 plants -I have 12 others that will be harvested later on (nuggets). The rest of the varieties will be later this year.

I am looking forward to next years harvest to see what happens after my irrigation system is in place and my fert schedule goes in.

That lb this morning is just enough for a big ole bowlful to get you going

Are you serious? June 5th harvest? Wow, we are usually looking at September in the NW.

 

[ctheis]

Yep...those 5 plants I let grow from March. They started budding early in march...so they have been growing for 3 months now. I have 5 more that I cut down to the crown in mid May. Those will be ready to go August or possibly sooner. I also have 7 First year nuggets that have burs. I expect those will be ready late August.